‘The Americans’ Recap: The Vows We Make

“Lies are the devil’s handmaiden. Lies weigh down our heart with sorrow and corruption.” ~ church minister

Viola’s minister spoke to her heart during his sermon. Viola, who traded her boss’s security for the safety of her son, has been keeping a dangerous secret and runs to the FBI to tell all. But this episode was about our characters either owning up to promises made or spilling their guts to free their consciences.

One of the overarching themes of this season has been the thin ice of trust that people stand on. Philip and Elizabeth’s marriage, fake as it may be, grew into a partnership of shared trust and respect. But that trust had been broken too many times.

As we approach the season’s final episode, we’re left to wonder what vows really mean to each of our characters.

Listening to Nina take the KGB oath (and get pinned like she’s going into the National Honor Society) was a great way to start the episode as it affected how we looked at our own spies. Philip, Elizabeth and even Claudia probably said the same words, but what did they mean to them? Elizabeth obviously took hers to heart. She’s been the most steadfast in her approach to her role in the U.S. Philip, despite his affection for American life, has never really faltered in his commitment to the cause. Yes, he brought up defection, but he never pursued it. Then there’s Claudia, whose dedication to her agents has been nothing but questionable, but has stood by the directions handed down to her.

But Elizabeth is looking at vows and promises differently. The Jenningses were tasked with coming to America and fitting in. They didn’t vow to like, or even love, their partner. Philip was right a couple of weeks ago: the Center doesn’t care if they maintain the façade of a married couple. Now, though, Elizabeth does.

Going to Philip’s fake quickie wedding and hearing his vows to Martha has opened Elizabeth’s eyes a little bit to the promise that a true marriage could hold for them. Martha is overjoyed to seemingly move forward with a man she still barely knows. Despite all the red flags she noted on her pros and cons list (Clarke’s need to keep their relationship top secret, his desire for them to still live separately, him pooh-poohing her need to have his name), she still goes through with the marriage. Philip only used her to get a bug into Gaad’s office, and she fell for his nebbish investigator persona because he showed her “genuine” kindness.

Like Amador, I already had cool feelings toward Martha. But tonight she showed some true depth of character. Props to Alison Wright, Martha’s portrayer, for turning a lonely secretary into a woman who sees the warning signs but still trusts her heart without seeming simple.

“An oath is both a statement for the present and a promise for the future,” the wedding minister tells Philip and Martha.

Elizabeth for the past couple of weeks has been easing into the promise of her faux marriage. We’ve seen her battle with herself to tell Philip to come home. Even though they weren’t legally married, there was a bond there. There were promises made when they decided to make their relationship real. Philip, who takes everything Elizabeth says at face value, can’t see that she’s struggling with her feelings for him, or maybe he doesn’t want to. He tried to fulfill the promise of marriage, but Elizabeth stiff-armed him to the point of giving up. With next week’s finale, maybe we’ll see some progress.

We watched as Nina is taken fully into the fold of the KGB, vowing “With every heartbeat, with every day that passes, I swear to serve the Soviet Party, the homeland and the Soviet people.”

But this oath takes on a new meaning for our femme fatale. Last week, it was Elizabeth’s journey that was captivating to watch. This week, Nina gives her a run for her money. Nina, who began as a clerk blackmailed into spying for the FBI has turned the tables on Stoic Stan Beeman. After gaining her new position guiding Directorate S, she meets Stan and tells him about her dream where she was waiting for him to save her, but then she woke up. Nina is coming to realize what Agent Gaad said weeks ago: Nina is never going to be extracted. She could continue to wait for Beeman to be the knight to sweep away her from the dark tower, or she could take her fate into her own hands.

When she confronts Beeman about his role in her friend’s death, it wasn’t in anger but resolve. “It was you. Did you kill Vlad?” she asks him. He gives her a non answer. After taking the vow, Nina knows her role in this spy game. The ending of Nina confessing to Arkady that she’s the mole but offering herself up as a double agent wasn’t so much a shock, but a natural progression. She’s no longer in need of a savior, but looking to save herself and, possibly, her country.

Side thoughts:

* Even though this recap focused on the emotional aspects of this ep, there was some high-quality comedy. Claudia and Elizabeth’s church-lady costumes were too much! The pastels, the wigs, the glasses. They looked like members of a “Saturday Night Live” sketch. I had to compose myself to listen to what they were actually saying.

* Paige is a groupie. And a tone-deaf one at that. Matthew Beeman’s horrible band is practicing in his mom’s kitchen (with one amp) and slaughtering “Mississippi Queen.” It’s just…the worst. Along comes one of Matthew’s friends with her super-tight sweater and ratty permed hair to save the jam session with a killer guitar riff. Paige has (talented) competition now for Matthew’s affection.

* The FBI is inching closer to finding the Directorate S officers killing their agents. They have composites sketches, courtesy of Viola and the CIA agent from last week, that look nothing like the Jenningses. But Stan sees something that gets his spidey senses tingling.

*I didn’t go into much detail about Sanford Prince and his intel on the ballistic missile thingy because at this point it’s all moot. We know how this “covert war” ends. The real interesting part of this show is watching how this couple moves in this world together as they try to avoid capture. At least to me, anyway.

So what’s next? Will Claudia continue to kill the ghosts in “Ms. Pac-Man?” Will Paige figure out a new way to flirt with Matthew that involves honesty about his lack of musical talent? And, of course, will Elizabeth finally tell Philip to come home?

What did you think? Leave your thoughts below in the comments section.

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